Seating Arrangements
by zombiedango
Summary: School and Kevin never went well together, in terms of grades. All he had to worry about was staying eligible enough to play sports. That's all he needed to do; all they wanted him to do. His team needed him, the school was proud of him and the whole town knew and adored him. That's all he wanted, or so he thought he did, untill now. Kevedd : Kevin x Edd RFF for more!


Star athlete, that's me. Most amazing, super sexy, beast? Still here. King of butts? No, thats my best friend, Nathan Goldberg. Nat for short, but grass hat works too. Nah, I'm the King of Peach Creek High. Every guy wants to be me and every girl wants to bang me. Mr. Cool Guy. Mhm, yep... that's who I am... Who I'll ever be... But hey, it's cool. As long as I can play, it's cool.

No, what am I talking about? Its not cool, not anymore now that I'm a senior. I gotta start thinking about my future! Where the hell am I gonna go after high school? I don't have a plan. I don't have a place after this. From Mr. Cool Guy, to bum on the street. And like hell am I working at a fast food joint. Hell no! That ain't happening.

I could go to college; keep my party days going, but I can't afford something like that. So, I'd need a full sports scholarship. 100% free ride for four years sounds nice enough. But what would I study? And do I even want to do school after this? I don't have any solid goals. I want to go pro, but what if I'm not good enough? What if I don't make it? I could become a mechanic. But I don't just want that either. I want my life to be more. So much more. Being the cool, sexy, star athlete, who rules over Peach Creek High isn't going to be enough for me anymore.

* * *

The more Kevin thought about it, the more he really wished that he had payed attention in school all these years. Maybe then he'd know or at least have a better idea of what he wanted to do. That's what he was thinking when he walked into his first period physics class. He didn't pay jack squat in any of his classes, this one expecially. Not that he wanted to, not really anyway. It was all far too boring to him. That wasn't the only reason, of course. There was also the fact that he was table partners with his best friend and surrounded by only the cutest babes in high school. He didn't have time to pay attention, not when boobs are being shoved at you from every angle.

The clamor of the classroom was momentarily masked by the beautiful singsong call of the girls, "Hey Kev~!" They greet him in their hair flipping, sweet smiling way. He flashed them his best, picture perfect smile and they _swooned_. Oh how he loved it. His earlier thoughts thrown out the door he had just entered in less than a jiffy.

He chuckled at their cuteness. _'Oh __yeah, today's gonna be a hell of a good day.'_ But just as he plopped down into his chair a tall, handsome, dark haired man strolled into the classroom, making Kevin's smile fade. Matthew J. Bulbs, Mr. Bulbs or Mr. B for short. Most of the girls harbor feelings for this yong teacher not only for his looks but also because, as far as they knew, he was single and he was unusually kind to almost everyone. Almost everyone, the only exclusion being Kevin. He seemed to have it out for Kevin and he hadn't done anything, not that he knows of anyway.

It pissed Kevin off. His grade in science was just passing and he hadn't said anything particularly bad about or to the man. So what was it? The year before everything was fine, now though? You would've thought that Kevin had taken a shit on the man's doorstep. Which he hadn't. Not yet anyway, with the way Mr. Bulbs was being now, he just might. Nobody would blame Kevin either. They all see that the way he acts towards Kevin is almost the polar opposite of the way he acts towards them. No one will say anything about it to Mr. Bulbs and Kevin won't even waste his breath trying to get a reason out of the man. _'He'd probably just get even more pissy than he already is.'_ He reasoned with himself. Kevin didn't even want to be in the same room with the man, let alone have a conversation with him.

Once morning announcements were finished, Bulbs looked the class over in the dead of silence as they waited for him to start their lesson. He leaned over his desk, taking a paper and then, sauntering with it to the back of the class, he spoke. "Alright everyone, grab your things and stand at the front of the room. I'm assigning you all new seats-"

"What- Why?" Nat questioned before Kevin had the chance to do the same. He ignored the green haired teen's questions and gestured carelessly to the board. No one had yet to move, only exchanging odd looks to the people around them. Seeing that no one was obeying, Mr. Bulbs gave them a shooing motion with the paper, gently smiling to the class. Some students then did as they were told; buying into his kind smile, but not Kevin. He was a little more reluctant to listen to Mr. Bulbs.

"Mr. B," Kevin spoke up, "you never answered my friend. Why are we getting assigned seats?" A second later, he regretted asking. Just as fast as his smile went on, it was gone and replaced with a glare that would make anyone cowar in fear. It was fixed on Kevin and everyone that was sitting got up and rushed to the front of the room, leaving Kevin to face the stare down alone. Though everyone had left his side, and there was a fully grown man glaring daggers at him, he stayed in his seat completely unvexed by any of it. He had seen it 100 times before and it was no different now.

Though it was not the glare that made him regret, but what he knew would come immediately after. The yelling. Not that he wasn't used to that. Oh no, he was. And usually he can tune it out because it was the same old bullshit most teachers yell at students about. Not Mr. Bulbs though, he could read a person like a book. Not even the most egotistical, conceited, big-headed and or snotty person can come out looking strong after Mr. Bulbs took a look through their pages. And for some odd reason, it was incredibly **hard** to ignore Mr. Bulbs.

Yet, still Kevin sat, awaiting for the leggy, raven haired man to start, but was surprised when his eyes softened -for only a moment- then quickly harden again. Just long enough for Kevin to notice. It was such a small change that nobody could notice, but he saw. He _had_ seen it 100 times before.

Mr. Bulbs let out a frustrated sigh, then turned his gaze from the seated ginger to the rest of the class. "Because," he announced in a sturn voice, "_some_ of us cannot handle sitting by friends." There were some uncomfortable shifts throughout the group of students standing.

"Oh, c'mon Mr. B! Can't we have another chance?" A brunette, Justin, whined jokingly. Mr. Bulbs just shook his head. "We promise we'll be good." There were some giggles from the girls, they were the only ones amused by his annoying comment.

"No, Mr. Hall. I've given you many chances, too many to count. And I have had enough. Now," he looked back at Kevin smiling, "Mr. Barr, if you would join the others?" He pointed to the front. He waited silently as the ginger got up.

Grumbling, Kevin snatched his books off of the table and headed between desks to the front. He was almost there when he spotted another student seated at one of the desks. Eddward Vincent, Edd or just Double Dee. _'One of the dorks had been sitting there the whole goddamn time?!'_ Kevin looked back to Mr. Bulbs, one eyebrow raised in a questioning manner. But all Mr. Bulbs did was give him another glare, as if trying to burn the message to not ask questions into the teen. Kevin looked back to the other teen for an answer but all _ he_ did was stare at him like a deer caught in headlights. Kevin just rolled his eyes and continued on.

Starting from the back, he raffled off seats. One by one they all shuffled to their new spots, some more reluctant than others. Once he was finished, he looked over the room nodding obviously approving the new arrangements. All the while, Kevin looked around himself with great disgust. All his friends and semibearable people were all the way across the room in a back corner, but him-? Oh, he was singled out. Stuck near the front with a bunch of nerds and teacher pets. Not a nice rack in sight for what seemed like miles.

Edd observed Kevin's discomfort in mild confusion. At least he wasn't paired with someone he didn't know, but Kevin was probably by far one of the last people he would've chosen. "Hopefully he doesn't take his anger out on me." Edd mumbled to himself. It was now his top priority to not make the other anymore mad that he already was. Who knows what he would do then. Well, they were near the door so maybe he could make a run for it if he needed to escape the jock's fury.

And so the lesson began. Mr. Bulbs was going on about what was likely to be on the semester exams and while Edd was scribbling down notes, Kevin was quickly growing more pissed by the second. His friends were in the back, joking and playing games, while he was stranded up front. Why was he the only one? Singled out from the group and left to rot in... the front. He finally turned to said area, slouching down in his chair and crossing his arms. Watching the smaller teen beside him.

"Why did it have to be _you_?" He growled. "Why did it have to be _me_? What did I do?" He was fuming and Edd could feel the other's eyes on him. He was trying his hardest to not shake under the weight of his glare, but it was no use. The other was seething with anger and it was being directed at him. Edd couldn't help that his hand began shaking, messing his normally neat handwriting and eventually leading him to freeze up in fear. It was becoming too much. The fear of just what Kevin could, would, and _or_ get other people to do to Edd was absolutely terrifying to the teen.

"E-excuse me Kevin?" Edd whispered, glancing nervously at the jock from over his shoulder, before snapping his head back to his notes. "But could you be so kind as to please keep it down?" Just the way the red head was scowling at him was setting him on edge enough... So he should've known how he was going to reply by just that, and never even bothered asking.

"Why? Just because a teacher's pet like you asked?" Kevin snapped, making Edd tremble in fear. "Just shut the fuck up and leave me the hell alone." Kevin received a quick nod from the twerp just before he layed his head down on top of the desk. He never hated the dork as much as he did at this moment. Kevin was just so furious and frustrated and... and just fucking pissed. Pissed at that stupid teacher for placing him there. Pissed at this dweeb for asking him to cool it, and just being near him in general. He was pissed that his friends were ignoring him just because he was upfront. He was pissed and he stayed like that for the rest of class.

* * *

And so Kevin's day went on. From one boring class to the next, dragging the day on for what felt like forever. It was all about the same though. Slept, goofed around, took some crappie, half assed notes and pissed some teachers off. Same old shit, but now it was lunch, by far the most likable part of school for Kevin. A time when he can just sit back and laugh with his friends. Not that he didn't already do this enough throughout the day.

It was just nearing the end of lunch and while Nat was entertaining the table with a story about some nice ass he got weeks prior. But Kevin had other things on his mind, like the bathroom for example. Now, usually he'd just get up and leave and that'd be it. Hardly any of the teachers cared if he left the room or left the school. Probably one less headache for them. So, what was stopping him now? Mr. Fuckin'. Bulbs. That's what. It was his day for cafeteria duty.

He'll let everyone **but** him leave. Each time he went up to that man with his buddies, he'd be told to sit back down. Every single time. Today was different though, he really had to go... like bad... really bad... like he feels like he's about to explode in his pants bad. So he got up to leave his table, but not before Nat jumped up with him, the rest of the table taking that as the signal to come too.

"Guys," Kevin groaned, "I'm just going to take a piss, don't come." He ordered, holding his hand up to stop them. A few shrugged at each other and they went back to sit, all except for Nat who looked at him a little confused. Kevin nodded sternly for him to go back before turning and stalking towards Mr. Bulbs.

He was standing next to one of the lunchroom's entrances, arms crossed and looking over the cafeteria. Once he realized that Kevin was coming over to him, he watched the teen and waited until there was less than five feet between them to speak. "Go back to your seat, Kevin."

"C'mon man, I gotta take a piss." Kevin explained. "Just let me go this once."

"No." He dead-paned.

"Why?"

Mr. Bulbs turned to scan the room quickly then turned back to Kevin. "Because I said so, Mr. Barr."

"But why?" Kevin demanded. "Is it cause I'm ginger?"

"Your what?" He asked, then shook his head. "No. You know what? Fine. Go," he said, but just as Kevin went to pass him, he grabbed the teen's shoulder, "but not in that bathroom. Go to the other one." Mr. Bulbs said, nodding his head to the other doors across the cafeteria. Kevin growled and shook Mr. Bulbs hand off of him. _'That's the closest bathroom you prick. I'm about to piss my pants, and you want me to go halfway across the school to find some other bathroom when I can just go down the hall?! Fat. Fuckin. Chance asshole.'_ He thought in a split second before nodding at man.

"Fine." He said as turned on his heel and strolled away from the man. "Whatever you want."

He crossed the open room, passing tables full of classmates of all sorts before he pressed through the large metal doors adjacent from where Mr. Bulbs stood. Kevin thought of heading for a different bathroom but as soon as he heard those big metal doors click shut, he high-tailed it to the restroom closest. Not only in the need to release, but in curiosity too. It was fine earlier that day. He hadn't heard anything about it being trashed by anybody. So what? What made Kevin so eager to learn why he wasn't supposed to go to that specific bathroom? Because Mr. Bulbs had told him not to of course.

As the wooden door of the boys bathroom came into view, Kevin couldn't help but think of how different the hallways looked with nobody else there to roam them. They looked smaller, if that made any sense, and dead. Kevin never really had to be alone in the school's hallways. He always had a friend, or pair of great boobs, there to distract him from the mysterious feel that he only just now realized they held. The only life these halls still had left was the muffled voices of teachers and students alike from behind closed doors. The lack of everything was starting to get to the jock, so he picked up the pace.

He bursted into the room and made a beeline for the urinals. His fly was down even before he had fully stopped in front of it. "Finally." He sighed in relief. His head fell and shoulders slumped back as he relaxed his body, enjoying the moment as much as possible, but stopped halfway when he heard a bathroom stall's lock slide shut. The prickling sensation of fear crawled up his spine as Kevin slowly turned his head to the side to catch a glance at the only stall that was closed, trying to remember if anyone had been in here when he had entered.

He hurried and tucked himself away, ready to confront whoever the hell else was in there with him. To be honest, it kind of freaked the teen out. He hadn't seen or even heard anyone when he had first entered. You would've thought that Kevin would have at least heard the other person in the room, but he hadn't. No footsteps, no shutter of the door as it closed, and the most confusing to the jock, no word of hello. Everybody said hi to Kevin, it was an excellent excuse to speak to the King of Peach Creek High. You'd have to be crazy not to want to talk with the star athlete. But this person had made absolutely no sign that he was in there with him. Not until that cold metallic noise of the lock.

"Hey man, how's it going?" Kevin asked like he was talking with one of his long time buddies, though he wasn't sure who he was even talking to. Upon receiving no reply Kevin flushed the urinal and stepped over to the sinks. He kept his eyes on the only closed stall door through the mirror while he washed his hands. Still nothing. Kevin was beginning to think that something was wrong. Flicking the water from off his hands he tried again. "Hey, you doin' okay in there?" Still not a sound.

The silence was growing thick, making Kevin worry. He turned to lean against the sink, crossing his arms as he watched the stall in front of him. This didn't feel right. None of it did. Kevin thought while he glanced around the dirty old bathroom. His eyes traveled from wall to wall and ceiling to the floor. He then glanced back to the stalls, now noticing that there were no shoes to be seen from under the door. This person was hiding and most likely wouldn't come out until Kevin left.

Well, Kevin's curiosity was too strong to just let him leave without knowing who exactly is hidden in the stall. Without giving it a second thought, Kevin sauntered over to the door; forcing it open and letting it slam shut, but not exiting through it. Instead, he pressed himself flush against a wall that the other person couldn't see around. From where he stood, he could still perfectly see the reflection of the dirty stall door and he watched it intently as he waited.

He stood completely still, trying his hardest to not make a sound. The room was so quiet that even his calm breathing overwhelmed his ears. It hadn't even been two minutes of silent waiting when he heard a sound from the other. The crumpling of a paper bag. Kevin tensed a little at the initial shock his ears recived do to the thundering noise as it smashed the silence of the room. Then he heard the noise of it being thrown away in the stall's trash bin.

_'What is- Is he eating there lunch... In here? What the hell-'_ His thoughts were interrupted by the cold, familiar sound of a lock sliding and a door as it banged open. And the sound of a rather petit nerd's footsteps as he rushed to the sinks with a fistful of napkins, scrubbing at a whitish wet spot on the front of his shirt with them. It was just Edd. Just the little nerd from first period.

Kevin relaxed, crossing his arms and repositioning himself so that he was leaning against the wall using his shoulder; letting a smug look cross his face. He had just outsmarted probably the smartest person in school. The jock just watched Edd as he panicked over whatever the hell it was on his shirt. He couldn't help but smile at the way Edd started to mutter things under his breath, and scowl at the spot he was rubbing, as if **it** was doing something wrong.

"What's that on your shirt, dork?" Kevin asked, obviously amused with the way Edd's head immediately snapped up to look at him through the mirror. His body froze when he saw Kevin's muscular form. His whole being petrified in that wide eyed, shock shooken state. "You gonna answer, or leave me guessing?" He asked smugly. He always liked to mess with this dweeb. He couldn't help but find it hilarious when the little nerd's face got all pinkish because of something Kevin said to him. It was the most delicious icing to his cake.

"Good Lord! Kevin," he gasped, "you scared me half to death." He placed a closed fist onto his chest and closed his eyes, calming himself. Upon reopening them, he found the other to be less amused and uninterested. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Well, I was having my lunch," he said, then looked back down at his shirt, pinching the messy fabric away from his body, "when I accidentally spilled my yogurt on my shirt, as you can see." Edd glanced up, checking to make sure that the other understood.

Kevin nodded, letting his eyes gander around the room, a very bored expression taking over his face. He somewhat appeared to be thinking, but he already knew what he was going to ask. He was just making sure that he even wanted to know. He shouldn't be here talking with this dweeb. He should be back at the cafeteria with his friends, goofing around and being loud like usual._ 'But they're__ probably getting bitched at by fuckin' Mr. Bulbs right about now. It's about that_ _time.'_ Kevin wasn't in the mood to hear him bitching yet, so he decided to kill some time and just ask. Besides, it would just bug him later.

"Well that's gross. Why the hell are you eating in here?" Kevin asked, not really sounding like he cared all that much. "You know, there's this really big room in the school that most people use for eating? You should really give it a try." He joked, smiling again.

"Why yes, of course I do." Edd nodded, wetting one of his napkins and pressing it to his shirt. "I just came from there, actually." This made Kevin frown. Now, either Kevin was wrong when he heard the sound of a paper lunch bag crumpling, or Edd had just lied to him. Neither of which sat well with Kevin.

"When did you leave?" Kevin asked suddenly. This time Edd turned his head to look at Kevin. He was a little shocked to hear Kevin ask. He knew that he probably didn't care, but he had asked.

"Not too long ago." He said before turning back to his shirt. "Why?"

"Huh, well that's strange cause I don't remember seeing you leave the cafeteria." Kevin stated, noticing that Edd's shoulders tensed up a bit. "And I watched Mr. B. for at least half of the lunch period. So, wanna try again Double Dork?"

"Whatever do you mean? I already told you." He said, switching his wet napkin for a dry one. This pissed Kevin off. He wasn't that stupid and Edd knew that. So, why would he lie then? And why did it bother Kevin so much?

"Cut the bull, dweeb." Kevin growled. "I ain't takin' any half assed lie for an answer. I wanna know why the hell you would choose such a shit place to eat when you could've been eating with your dork friends."

"Because I don't have any friends to eat with." Edd explained, as if it was normal. There was no sadness, no anger- nothing. It was almost as if he were reading off the ingredients to some lunch meat container for the thousandth time. He seemed to be so _okay_ with it. Like it didn't even matter to him anymore or even worse, it never did. That probably wasn't the truth, and Kevin knew that.

"Hey..." Kevin said as he nudged himself off the wall and over towards the nerd, opting to lean against the sink right next to him. Edd just kept his eyes fixed on the stain in his shirt, not acknowledging the other's movement. "Hey, Edd. That's not true. I bet you're friends with a lot of people."

"Now, **that** isn't true, Kevin." Edd said, looking Kevin straight in the eye. Kevin stared back, glancing from eye to eye in search of any type of dishonesty, but found none. Instead he discovered for the first time that the dork had extremely beautiful colored eyes. He couldn't name the exact color they were- light blues and greens?- it was on the tip of his tongue. He wasn't very sure how else to describe them, but somehow they shined under the poor bathroom lighting. "It may appear to you that way, but I will assure you that it's quite the opposite." Edd's voice pulled him out of his trance.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kevin asked since he didn't actually get all of what he said.

"I am talking about the fact that I only have two friends on this planet who can stand to be around the likes of me and one of them dropped out, while the other doesn't share the same lunch period as us." Edd snapped at Kevin. "I'm so sorry, Kevin. I shouldn't have lost my temper at you like that." He quickly apologized.

"It's cool man, but what about Sarah and Jimmy? You guys are friends, right?" Kevin asked, but Edd just went back to drying off his shirt. "They have a whole table to themselves, they won't give a shit." Edd just shook his head.

"I think you're confusing friends with acquaintances." He smiled at himself through the mirror, it didn't look right to Kevin. It looked strained, broken, and pained. It was all in those beautiful eyes. Those eyes spoke to Kevin. "Like everyone else, they acknowledge me and my existence but if given the opportunity, they would have forgotten me in an instant." Kevin was just about to say something against that when Edd held up a finger to stop him. "Besides, it's best not to impose. It would also be a good idea for you to return to your friends before they begin to worry." He said glancing over to the clock and back to Kevin, still wearing that sad smile.

"Nah, I think I'm gonna hangout here with you until the bell." He said, smirking. He watched as Edd's eyebrows knitted together and he looked from Kevin back to the clock several times until finally stopping back on Kevin.

"Though I do appreciate the thought, Kevin," Edd said sternly before letting a smirk slip onto his face, "I could only imagine what your friends would do if you didn't return to them. Why, I'm almost positive that by now they've already sent out fliers in search for you." It took Kevin a moment of studying the other's smug expression to realize that, **that**, was a really bad attempt at making a joke.

Kevin threw his head back for a quick laugh before nudging Edd just hard enough to move him, but he forgot that he wasn't pushing around one of his athletic, coordinated friends- he was pushing a 90 pound, uncoordinated, weaker nerd who is often clumsy enough. Edd, clearly not expecting the sudden push, landed with a dull thud as his rear met the bathroom's floor tiles. This made Kevin errupt with laughter as he sauntered over to help Edd up.

"Hah, sorry dork." He apologized, stooping down to Edd and yanking him up by the hand. "I didn't know you had jokes." He chuckled, as he patted off his shoulder. "They'll be fine anyways, its not like they can't function without me." Kevin laughed out as he headed for the door.

Edd wasn't listening though. He was too busy staring at the underside of the door, where he caught a glimpse of somebody standing right outside of the bathroom. And that down right terrified Edd. All the bullies of the school flashed through his mind, along with just about everything they're capable of doing to him in a bathroom. Then a thought popped into his head- what would Kevin even do? Edd tried to argue with himself that Kevin would help, but past experiences between the two begged to differ.

"Ah, Kevin?" Edd squeaked out.

He paused at the door, throwing Edd a sideways glance. "C'mon Double Dork, we got like, three more minutes till lunch is over. Let's get a head start to class." Kevin shook his head in disbelief about what he just said. _'Since when did I start givin' a shit about being on time?'_ He questioned himself before pulling open the door.

"K-Kevin, wait!" Edd ordered as reached his hand out, trying to stop the jock, but it was too late. Kevin had already yanked it open, revealing a tall, dark haired man.

"Mr. Barr."

"Shit." Kevin swore under his breath.

"Out." Mr. Bulbs ordered Kevin. "Wait for me in the hall."

Kevin groaned as he passed the man, not even bothering to look at him before the door slammed shut. He contemplated making a run for it; head home and sleep the day away. _'No, I'd have to come back sooner or later.'_ He thought as he glared at the bathroom door, waiting for the other. "This is bullshit." No later than he had said that, Mr. Bulbs emerged with a very red faced Edd.

"I'll see you soon, Mr. Vincent." He said to Edd. He gave a curt nod before scurrying off down the hall. "Now," Mr. Bulbs said with a clap of his hands, "Care to explain why exactly you are here, the exact place that I strictly said that you couldn't go to?" He didn't let Kevin speak, he instead continued on. "II think this calls for a detention," he said, pulling yellow slips of paper from his pocket, "to be served after school, today, in my room." Mr. Bulbs said, filling it out and swiftly handing it over to Kevin.

Kevin stared at the slip, irritation rising in his system as he read it. _'The fuck?'_ He thought in disbelief, looking up at the man and pointing to the slip still in Mr. Bulbs' hands. "What the hell do you mean by skipping class?" Kevin demanded. "I fucking asked you to go!"

"Do I need to add something about the inappropriate language you keep using?" He asked pointedly. Kevin just shook his head and snatched the slip away from him. The bell signaling the end of lunch sounded and students began to fill the halls once more. "Well," Mr. Bulbs said over the clamor of passing students, "I will be seeing you after school then, Mr. Barr."

"And what if I don't show up?" Kevin called as Mr. Bulbs walked off. With a quick smile from over the shoulder, he answered.

"Then I shall see to it personally that you are placed in ALC for the next week." He said happily. "You have skipped enough to make that a possibility, I suggest that you don't miss this one." And with that, he was gone.

Kevin growled in frustration and wiped a hand down his face, watching some of the people as they passed by. "This is _bullshit_." He announced, looking back down at the paper slip in his hand. "Total bullshit." He grumbled, shoving it into his poket before walking to his next class.

* * *

The rest of the day went by as usual and Kevin found himself staring blankly at the mess of things in his locker, again debating on whether or not to serve his detention._ 'If I skip, I get to spend the next week doing absolutely nothing in a small room with an old bat who chews her food like an animal... or I can spend the next thirty minutes with the prick of the century.'_ Kevin glanced around and clicked his tongue, he really didn't want to do either of them. He just wanted to go home and sleep. He gave one last look around before grabbing the side of his locker as he prepared to make a run for it. He was just about to slam his locker shut when someone called out to him.

"Greetings Kevin." Edd greeted cheerfully. Kevin turned towards the nerd as he approached.

"Greetings Double Dork." He mocked.

"Mr. Bulbs sent me to retrieve you. Are you prepared?" Edd asked, glancing from the open locker, to the jock, and right back to the mess in his locker. Kevin watched with amusement as Edd's eyes widened with shock. Oh how Kevin enjoyed the way his beautiful eyes danced over the inners of his locker.

Edd couldn't believe his eyes. The state of Kevin's locker was horrible, to say the least. Edd let his eyes trail alongside the edges of poorly kept binders,- that had clearly been carelessly tossed into the locker- to the stacks of crumpled papers sandwiched between them that seemed to be trying to escape in any way they could manage. Books, naked without any cover to protect them, helped to separate the waist high layers. The pages of these books, stained and folded, had some papers, wrinkled much like the rest, poking out at different spots within them. Everything slopped together in the small area made Edd feel sick inside, like something was pulling at all of his vital organs- like something was _begging_ for the sock headed teen to tidy it.

Oh how Kevin enjoyed the way his beautiful eyes danced over the inners of his locker. He simply enjoyed watching those colorful orbs move, but Kevin no longer wanted Edd to be looking at his shit mess of a locker anymore. He didn't like it for some reason. "What?" Kevin snapped a little more aggressive than intended, but went with it after seeing the little nerd bounce back in surprise; eyes flicking up to rest upon Kevin's slight scowl.

"Kevin," Edd said slowly, "this isn't your locker, is it?" He asked, gesturing towards it.

_'Well, no fuckin' duh dork! Who's else would it be? Dumbass.' _Kevin immediately thought out in his head, but refrained from voicing it because a new thought popped into his head not half a second later.

"No." Kevin said calmly, forcing his face to be one of mild disappointment as he peered down into the locker. "I don't know who's it is, actually." He stated as if it were no big deal. Kevin let himself laugh on the inside when he caught just how fast Edd's face contorted into one filled with horror and blatant shock. Kevin could see his body tensing. Still wearing his poker face, he leaned up against one of the lockers and peered back down into his own. "Yeah, I've been doing this for a while now and I'd have to say, this one is a total let down." He said with a sigh. "Well, since this one had nothin' good, do you wana find different one to bust?"

Edd was dumbfounded. Was Kevin insane? Just what on earth was he thinking? Edd didn't know. Edd watched as Kevin began to walk over to another unsuspecting locker. Edd's inner thoughts screamed at him to go get assistance to stop Kevin from possibly stealing from others. He needed to find an adult. _'What Kevin is doing is criminal!' _He explained. _'Good lord Eddward! Take action! Take advantage of the fact that he's distracted and get authority's help! Do something!'_ He begged himself to move, to run and find someone, **anyone!**

But he couldn't. There was a small, almost unnoticeable, voice that murmured to Edd. It had whispered to Edd at many times before. The voice of hope. It would often be drowned out by hard facts and evidence, but it was still there; fighting for the spotlight every time it could. Even when impossible and illogical things happened, and no matter how crazy an idea was, that small voice would always whisper that anything could be possible if Edd had a little faith. But faith became something Edd didn't have much of anymore, so he very rarely ever listened to the small, almost unnoticeable, voice because he feared being wrong.

Edd was just about to try and persuade Kevin to stop and think about what would possibly happen to him if he were to be caught, when Kevin's voice came out before his had a chance to. "And also..." he said, sauntering back to Edd, stuffing his hands into his pockets while nodding to the last few students as they hurried past them. Once he stationed himself directly in front of Edd, he leaned over to his hight and whispered in the pint sized nerd's ear, "I'm totally fucking with you right now."

"You're... What?" He asked incredulously, his shoulders dropping. Kevin had yet to back away, so when Edd turned his head to look him in the eyes they were literally face to face. Edd couldn't believe that the small voice in his head- the one that he forces himself to ignore- was right as he stared into Kevin's forest green eyes that glinted with playful mischief. And Kevin stared right back, still not quite remembering the name of that beautiful color in Edd's eyes.

"I'm only joking." Kevin restated with a smile, grasping Edd's shoulder and using a little force to push away from the nerd; only just remembering what had happened in the bathroom. It was there that he used that quick moment to get a feel of the nerd- just out of curiosity, of course. He wouldn't fully admit it, but the dork had a nice feel to him. He gave one last pat to Edd's shoulder, finally deciding to go to that detention of his, and grabbed a random binder off the top. "You staying too?" He asked, gripping the locker door.

"Ah, no." He said, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "I'm planning on going to the public library to finish an essay of mine, and then home."

"Oh." Was the only thing that came out of his mouth. He straightened himself and pulled his locker shut, accidentally catching some of the papers as he did. The metal yelped as it ground against each other just before the top clicked shut. Edd winced at the noise of crumpling papers that still crackled after. Try as he might, Kevin's locker couldn't shut all the way, the bottom corner jutting out an inch or so. He gave it one final kick, hoping to finally get it to close, but even that failed. "Fuckin' A!" Kevin swore a little too loudly, causing Edd to flinch. Edd never liked vulgarity but he let it slide, for now.

"Kevin, you should really clean and organize your locker." Edd said with a smile. Kevin just shrugged at him.

"Yeah," he said with a sigh, "I know. I just don't got the time to deal with this shit." Edd pursed his lips, trying to forgive the poor grammar and lack of civility in his speech.

"Yes well, how about after school? You surely must-"

"And be stuck in this hell hole longer than I have to? Fuck no. It's bad enough that I have to stay here because of some stupid detention-" he said, glancing towards the hallway clock, "That I'm gonna get yelled at for being late now, great." Kevin assumed aloud, clicking his tongue before strutting past Edd.

"Um, but w-wait!" He called, turning on his heel after the jock. "Could you just take a moment and explain how on earth you can possibly find the supplies you need to function properly throughout your school day when your locker is so very unorganized?" He said rapidly, catching up to the jock as they turned around a corner.

"I don't know, I just do I guess." Kevin said with another shrug, tossing Edd a side glance as they walked. "Anything I need is on the top. If I can't find it on the top, then clearly I don't need it."

"Kevin," Edd said, stopping the redhead just before he could enter Mr. Bulbs' classroom, "the state of your locker is unexceptional. I'm simply imploring you to **please** clean it."

"Why?" Kevin asked, eyebrows slightly knitting together.

"Well, it would-"

"No." Kevin interrupted, putting his hand up then pointing at Edd. "Why do you care?" He asked before flipping his hand towards all the other lockers in the hallway. "I mean, there are a lot of other people's lockers that are worse than mine."

Edd, for once in Kevin's life, didn't have an immediate answer. Sure, Kevin knew that Edd had a slight OCD quality to him. He didn't like messy and or dirty things, but usually things like lockers and other people's possessions didn't bother him as much. So it left Kevin to wonder why in all hell Edd was bothering him so damn much about it. He, as far as Kevin knew, had never 'implored' anyone to clean something so trivial unless that person's things kept him from accomplishing his school work. Othet than that, Edd kept to himself; careful to not get in the way of others. _'So then why the hell is he riding my ass?'_ Was all Kevin could ask himself as they stood there waiting for Edd to formulate an answer.

An answer he never got the chance to say because suddenly Mr. Bulbs appeared in his doorway, looking down at Kevin, visibly unhappy with the jock and Kevin immediately glared back. "You're late, Mr. Barr." He spat at him, as if he didn't already know. "Let's go." He ordered. "You have utensils to wash and the underside of desks to clean." And with that he turned back into his classroom.

Kevin pursed his lips in a hard line and mumbled a quick, "Fine." Before softening and turning back to Edd. He looked the nerd over, almost admiring him. Kevin's eyes wondered over the black hat atop his head, then around the edges of where his hat met his face and over the little wisps of black hair that just barely escaped from beneath it. The mossy green irises continued their journey down the side of his neck, over the porcelain skin, and quickly skimmed over Edd's clothing that fit him all too perfectly just before meeting his eyes again.

Again he had a chance to study those beautifully colored eyes. And again he couldn't name the color. Kevin dared to take a step closer towards Edd, lookin to find a better view and he did. When he moved it caused Edd to tilt his head up in order to keep his eye contact with the taller, his lips parting ever so slightly. He was too busy to notice the small pink creeping across Edd's shocked face. His brows knitted together as he asked himself, _'What the hell is the name of his eye color?' _Then quickly followed by, _'And why the fuck do I care?'_ Which started a small argument with himself inside his own head; still trying to get an answer to the earlier question.

He was so fixated on his eyes that he hadn't even heard what Edd had said. He quickly cleared his thoughts with a shake of his head. "I'm sorry, what?" He asked while glancing away and straightening his hat, his own cheeks becoming tinted do to the fact that he was caught staring. "No. You know what?" He interrupted Edd before he had the chance to speak. "I'll do it. I'll clean out my locker."

"Oh, well thank-"

"But," He stopped Edd again, but he let it slide... again, "you're gonna help me, dork." He gave the smaller a quick pat on the shoulder before leaving him standing in the hallway.

"Kevin?" Edd called to the other, stepping up to the door's frame. "When exactly are we doing this then?" He asked, watching as Mr. Bulbs pushed a bottle of cleaner and rags into his hands.

"I'll tell you." Was the only- slightly cockey- answer he received before Mr. Bulbs came to the door, thanked him for a job well done, and then closed the door after bidding him goodbye. Edd wanted to talk more, but he knew that the clock was ticking and if he wanted to get finish up a report due next week, study, and chores before the newest episode of his favorite show then he'd have to leave now. And so he did.

* * *

Kevin didn't arrive home until mid sunset. Mr. Bulbs hadn't let him leave until everything in his room was **absolutely** spotless. Normally the ride back wouldn't be so bad, but with Halloween fast approaching- meaning that the days would be getting a little cooler with each one- and the sun lower in the sky than it usually is when he'd ride home- making it even colder- he hadn't expected it to be as cold as 36 degrees. And so, like any other normal, lazy teenager, he had left his leather jacket at home along with his gloves. Anything he deemed unnecessary during that morning, he didn't take. Boy was Kevin regretting that as he forced his reddened fingers, that stung from the cold, to grip his handlebars while he steered into the cul-de-sac and finally stopped in his driveway.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." He quickly muttered as he ripped off his helmet and tucked it under his arm before clicking his motorcycle off, taking a moment in the new silence to breathe on his aching fingers; still strattling his bike. Now that he'd stopped the sun warmed his side and he looked towards it, taking in the beautiful collage of colors.

Kevin smiled lightly as his eyes skimmed over the various shades of red that surrounded the little orangey ball of light, and the violet clouds that were scattered around it. He was reminded of the redish colored jeans a girl in one of his classes was wearing today- how they hugged her ass so very deliciously while she walked. Then, he was reminded of another red article of clothing. Edd's shirt.

"Oh, what the fuck?" Kevin asked under his breath before searching his pockets for the garage door remote. "That's like the seventh time today!" He muttered.

It was true. All while he was cleaning, he was thinking about that smart filled dork. If Kevin picked up a science tool and didn't know what the name of it was, his first thought was that Edd probably knew what it was. Every time he did something new, that little nerd was there in his head. Something drawn on the desk? _'That goody two shoes wouldn't do this.'_ When he was wiping off the board and came across a scientific problem or two that he didn't understand?_ 'That little nerd could probably solve that.'_ While he scraped a piece of gum that resembled nothing about the dork? Still something about Edd. And quite frankly, it was starting to piss the jock off.

He cursed as he dismounted his bike and strolled his bike into his garage. He turned to look out of his garage at Edd's house and he clicked the door shut. He watched as the door slowly slid shut, blocking his view as it went, and hopefully his thoughts, too.

Just as the door reached halfway, Edd's black MAZDA pulled in to his own driveway, but that's not what caught Kevin's attention and caused him to slowly crouch down with the door in order to continue to watch Edd after he got out. What caught his attention was the fact that, from where he was standing- all the way across the cul-de-sac-, he could clearly see that his shirt was no longer just red, but cacked in what Kevin suspected to be mud and ripped in the shoulder. Not only that, but he was clutching a rag to the front of his face.

"What the hell?" He asked just as the door set shut. He'd have to find out tomorrow. For now, he'd eat, chat with nazz over the phone, and take a hot shower. Not in that order, but all before going to bed. "Yeah," he sighed, ruffling his hair with his hat, "tomorrow. That's when I'll see him again."

But Edd wasn't going to be at school tomorrow, or even the day after that. No, he wasn't going to school. Not anymore.


End file.
